thow-tem3

Homopolar Motor

Homopolar_Motor_VERY_FAST.jpg

Broad Question:Does the copper wire design affect RPS?

Specific Question:Does the design of how the copper wire is shaped around the battery affect the amount of Revolutions Per Second?

Variables

Independent Variable:The copper design

Dependent Variable:Speed, Rotations Per Second

Variables That Need To Be Controlled: Same battery type, Surface(table), copper material

Hypothesis:I hypothesize that the "Straight Down" design will have the most RPS.

Graph of Hypothesis

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General Plan

467px‑Motor_homopolar.png

Experimental Design:

I will conduct my experiment at my house. When i am doing my experiment I will use six different designs to collect data. They will be recorded with a camera to help find revolutions per second. There will be five trial to find an average. I will copy down the data and put it in to a computer. To document the process i will use a camera to take pictures and videos.

Materials list;

a. AA battery
b.Neodymium magnet
c. 18 gauge copper wire
d. Needle nose pliers

Detailed Procedure

1. Gather materials
2. Place the neodymium magnet on the negative terminal of the battery
3. Bend the wire into any shape you want, but be sure it makes good contact with the positive terminal of the battery as well as the magnet.
4. Balance the copper wire on top of the battery and make small adjustments in the shape until it spins quickly and easily.

homopolar‑motor‑2011050406.jp

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Background Research

Copper wire will need to be touching the Positive and negative terminal all at the same time. You will need to make small adjustments until the wire spins freely and easily.

The bigger the battery the longer the test will go. when doing this experiment you are really just hot wireing the AA battey, the life will not last long.

The permanent magnet produces a magnetic field that is vertically upwards through the conducting disk. The cell provides current that flows through one brush to the central shaft, then outwards to the right towards the brush on the rim.

The combination of a cylinder magnet and a disc rotating together, has been the center of conterversy that still rages to this day. As energy flows throught the 18 gauge wire it connects with the magnet, pushing the wire away from the magnet, but since the wire runs to both side it is getting pushed away equally.

References

"homopolar Motor." http://dangerouslyfun.com. google, n.p. Web. 18 Jan. 2012. <http://dangerouslyfun.com/homopolar-motor>.
"Homopolar Motor." http://www.animations.physics.unsw.edu. np, 20 Jan. 2012. Web. 1 Jan. <http://www.animations.physics.unsw.edu.au/jw/homopolar.htm#motors>.

"homopolar motor." www.evilmadscientest.com. np, Web. 20 Jan. 2012. <http://www.evilmadscientist.com/article.php/HomopolarMotor>.

Valone, Thomas. The Homopolar Handbook. First Edition. Washington D.C., DC: Integrety Research Institute, 1994. Print.

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Results

Data Table

Graphs

Photos

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Data Analysis

Conclusion

The original purpose of this experiment was to find the Revolutions Per Second “RPS” of a homopolar motor. I recorded the RPS of how many times the copper went around the battery from the starting point. The result of my experiment was that the “spiral” and “straight Down” were tied at seven RPS. Then were “box” and “owl box” tied for second with 6 RPS. Then there was the “T” design in third with 5, and finally there was the “Heart” design with 4 RPS.

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Discussion

My hypothesis was that the “straight down” design would win. My results were partially right. The spiral design tied. There is a relationship between the independent and dependant variables. It seems that the way you shape the copper wire affects the speed(RPS). When the wire is wrapped close around the battery, it spins faster. If the design had parts of wire popping out away from the battery it causes the whole rig to start to wobble and lose connection with the magnet, this slowing the whole process.
Some patterns that happened in my experiment was that the bigger setups were slower. The more copper they had the heavier it is, and the bigger they were the more drag they had instead of being close in and not weighing much at all.
In the test I did I read paragraphs on how to do the test and step by step what to do. Then I watched videos to see how to do some things with molding the forum. All of my designs probable weren't molded perfectly. I also used different batteries but they were the same type and same power. If I could improve my experiment I would probably use magnets from a website specifically tailored to homopolar motor. There are actual motors like what I did, but they are improved. They create energy and can be used for most things.

Benefit to Community and/or Science